I Might Want a Pen Pal
by AwkwardScenario813
Summary: (The long awaited sequel to I *Might* Want a Nanny) Upon leaving, Axel finds himself in a situation where he may never see his little blonde teen again... and Roxas isn't too happy about being forgotten, either. But what if it was a misunderstanding? What if Axel hasn't forgotten at all?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Day After

Axel disappeared around the brick wall. 'Why did it have to be like this? Life sucks. Dangling happiness in my face and snatching it away. It was like that with that bitch and now with the kid. The kid...' Axel thought to himself. He scoffed. 'Of course. "Kid". He was a child. In some ways. But he pleaded with me- he WANTED me to. And the look on his cute little face- what good nanny would say no to that? Of course what he was asking for was something a good nanny never does to their kid... Why had I let myself get the best of me?' Axel stuffed his hands in his pockets. 'Maybe because he was different,' Axel thought, hailing a taxi to take him to the apartment Marluxia and Demyx shared. Mostly because Marluxia thought highly of Demyx, the respectful boy dating Marly's sister, Naminé... Who also happened to be best friends with Axel's little sister, as well. 'Maybe because though young, Roxas held a presence so much more different than anyone else's had held for me.' Axel looked out the window. He watched residential area give way to town, and town give way to apartment complexes. The taxi stopped, and Axel paid fare. He got out and knocked on the door- he had no possessions. Those were all left behind when he was practically chased from Roxas's home and his position as Roxas's personal nanny. The door opened.

"Onee-chan!" Shiki cheered, throwing her arms around Axel's waist. "Why so sad, Onee-chan?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. She looked similar to Axel, yet her hair was a less vibrant red and her eyes were brown. 'Still in her Anime phase, I see,' Axel thought.

"Why do you call me that? I don't even think it's the right word for 'Big Brother' or even 'Brother'," Axel muttered.

"Why? Would you rather me call you Moo-" she started.

"No, no- just call me one-can or whatever," Axel grimaced. He absolutely loathed the nickname his sister had for him since she learned to talk.

"So what do you want?" she asked.

"Why are you even here?" Axel asked, ignoring her question.

"Mar-Mar's sissy and my bestie invited me over for dinner. They said if you wanted to come you could, but you haven't been home for like, a week."

"It's only been about six days. You survived," Axel said. He passed her coldly. He didn't want to deal with pesky little sisters, much less the feeling of being so alone since he was forbidden his secret treat. That night at dinner, Axel asked Marluxia if he could stay the night.

"... I just don't want to go face mom- she doesn't like me hanging around the house since I left Larxene, 'the Perfect Girlfriend'. And I got fired so I can't go back to Roxas's," Axel explained.

"Sure. Stay as long as you want," Marluxia agreed. Axel nodded and excused himself from the table, having barely eaten anything. He went to the guest room and lay down on the bed, missing having Roxas to wrap his arms around, or Scootch to comfort him. He had given his precious pup to Roxas as a reminder, trying to make sure he never forgot the nanny that had given and taken his own and Roxas's heart in an exchange of Axel's unconditional love and care for Roxas's virginity of all things. Axel thought back to the day he spent- no, days- he spent, caring for and taking care of Roxas, though the fors and ofs of the whole ordeal were two completely (well, not completely) different things. Just thinking about it made Axel tempted to rush back to the Ventus's mansion and whisk Yuffie's blonde haired son back with him into oblivion as far as she was concerned. He would've liked to kidnap his probably more than willing victim and fled the country if possible. And even along the way sharing those sweet, forbidden secrets that should never leave lovers' bedrooms with him. But Axel knew if he dared he would be in even more trouble than he was already in. Three years. He had promised Roxas that three years from today he would return and take him away. Axel smiled sadly at the thought as a tear slipped from his closed eyes down his face in a horizontal to his mouth pattern due to the fact he was laying down. Axel wasn't sure how long Roxas would be able to stand it, but Axel certainly knew that he himself would wait for as long as it took. After all, he had been waiting more than twenty years to meet this boy. It wouldn't hurt that much to wait another three. As long as Roxas did the same. Axel sighed. He already missed the beautiful blue eyes that adorned the young man's face, and the silky golden blonde hair that complimented those eyes like the sky so compliments the sun. His door opened.

"What's wrong? You've hardly talked and you barely ate," someone asked from the doorway.

"I... I guess I'm just bummed out about losing my job, Demyx," Axel said after a moment. 'Bummed out doesn't even scrape the ice,' Axel thought.

"Where's Scootch?" Demyx asked.

"Gave him to the kid. The boy needed a pet- he spends a lot of time alone."

"You need a pet or something... You don't like talking to others about your problems and you're alone most of the time since you dumped Larxene. Something else is bugging you," Demyx pointed out.

"I'm just tired. Can you just leave it be?" Axel demanded, snapping at his friend. "I'm sorry, Dem. Just a lot of stuff on my mind. I'd rather not talk about it." 'Of course- if I did, I'd be in even worse trouble,' Axel thought again.

"Okay. Goodnight, Axel... I guess I'll see ya in the morning," Demyx said, closing the door and leaving Axel in the dark once again. The hall light disappeared from his back as the moon hid behind the clouds. Axel closed his eyes. Though when he'd first gotten the tatoos under his eyes and Larxene told him he looked like a depressed clown, Axel would've never thought he would ever be depressed the way he was now. He pulled the covers over his head, covering that and the crazy-spiked bright red hair that extended from it. He closed his eyes and after some time, depressing thoughts gave way to depressing dreams.

Meanwhile, Yuffie checked on her son, Roxas... Mostly to make sure he was asleep. When he'd threatened his life, even brandishing a blade to his own skin, she promised him she wouldn't call the cops on Axel, his nanny-accused-rapist. She picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1. Her son needed to have that horrible man locked away- she wouldn't stand for a minute to have the man who violated her innocent boy still walk in public. She just hoped the media never found out- if they did her publicity would go up- but not in a good way. Even Roxas would be ridiculed in tabloids, being the son of local movie star Yuffie Ventus (yes, she kept her name after the divorce and yes- there were other children but they were with Ven, her ex-husband, now) she hurriedly spoke into the phone, pulling up Axel's file on her computer to give the address he had as his last residence. Apartment 114 in the downtown area. She gave the woman the address as it was written and a description. Then she hung up. All she had to do was bring the videos to court and Roxas would never know- it was best if he didn't. There's no telling what he'd do if he knew Axel would be locked up. She went to bed shortly after her call, still insanely angry that someone could do such unspeakable things to a child- her child, no less. While she fumed until she slept, 15-year-old Roxas lay in his bed, Axel's former dog, Scootch, at his feet and the only one of Axel's salvaged t-shirts he had clutched in his arms, part of the white fabric buried under his nose, Axel's scent burning sweet dreams in his mind of him being reunited with his red-haired stallion in three years' time.

The next morning while Roxas and Axel were sleeping in beds on two different sides of town, Yuffie downstairs from Roxas, drinking her morning coffee and police cruisers pulling up on the sidewalk downstairs from Axel, both Roxas and Axel had finally found peace with each other in their dreams. Suddenly, Axel's door flew open and three and four cops were on him, pinning and cuffing him before hauling him downstairs, telling him he was under arrest for 'solicitation with a minor' and reading off his rights while Demyx and Marluxia watched in shock as their friend was hauled out of the house, head down depressingly and not even resisting the slightest bit as if he knew this was coming. On the bright side, Axel had fallen asleep in his clothes from the day before, and was only absent of shoes and socks. Roxas awoke with a jolt for no real reason; just a stabbing feeling in his gut that Scootch seemed to have picked up on, too. Roxas, though wide awake couldn't help but yawn. Today was just going to be one less day to wait for Axel, and hence Roxas's countdown begins. He hid Axel's shirt, knowing him mom would freak if another scrap of that man were found in the house. Roxas went downstairs in a state of extreme melancholy, however. He made his morning bowl of cereal in the same cloud of gloom, a dead expression and glassy eyes that seemed to have the immediate ability to overflow if the slightest wrong thing was said. He completely ignored (or moreso didn't notice) the pitiful look his mom gave him. She intensely believed that Roxas's innocence was stolen, but Roxas had tried to tell her that was far from the case- he had tried to explain he LOVED Axel and had even WANTED him to do it. But she didn't believe him. So now Roxas sat there at the table eating the first random cereal he had grabbed from the shelf, not caring what it was but more absorbed in thinking about how alone he felt since Axel left, and how much he missed Axel's company along with Axel's kisses and Axel's fingers and even Axel's smell, which was fading from the shirt Roxas salvaged. Scootch nudged Roxas's leg with a moist nose, causing Roxas to look down at the fat, black little bulldog Axel had left him. Roxas walked over to the massive bag of dog food and scooped a cup out before dumping it into Scootch's bowl.

The little dog ate immediately, causing a faint smile to tease Roxas's lips breifly before his lower lip trembled and his eyes watered. He had no idea this would be so HARD. Even though his time with Axel was short, regardless they had enjoyed so many (naughty) things together, Roxas knew their bond stemmed deeper than just that- it was like some instant connection from fairy tales, though Roxas hated the words 'love at first sight' it held a bit of truth for him. Yes, it may not have been at first sight but when Roxas realized he liked Axel much more than he should, it was like some connection that took years to build was forged in seconds. And it obviously didn't like being pulled apart, and it most certainly wouldn't just break. Roxas sniffled, large beads of saltwater running down his cheeks like it was a race. He brought his arms up to wipe away the tears- crying wasn't manly because men were unbreakable, yet... Why was it he had felt so hollow and torn up inside?

Yuffie was there almost instantly, petting Roxas's bedhead hair with one hand, the other hand on his shoulder and guiding him upstairs while she whispered 'soothing' things like "it's okay, he can't hurt you," or "I'm here, baby, I'm here," and any comment even referring to Axel made him cry even more. Roxas was normally macho (or tried to be), and him crying at his momma made him feel like a baby. While his mom held him, now sitting on his bed beside him where she had made him sit, he knew he wanted a different pair of arms comforting him. He wanted Axel. Little did he know, Axel was now in jail and awaiting trial for his crime.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: So Distant...

Over Roxas's summer vacation, he was actually hiding in his room the first week, only coming out to eat and use the restroom. Roxas went down to the kitchen to get something to eat one Saturday a week into summer vacation, which had started Wednesday morning after school let out Tuesday, which was at that point eleven days before. Which meant to Roxas that it had been almost twelve days since Roxas had last seen Axel.

"Roxas, my agent is calling me in. I hate to leave my poor baby alone, but he can't hurt you right now. He won't ever be able to hurt you again, so do you think you'll be okay by yourself?" Yuffie asked. Roxas nodded meekly around a bite of cereal. "Okay then. Take care, Deedles, and don't do anything reckless," she said, patting his back, grabbing her purse, then leaving while Roxas sat there, trying hard not to cry at the nickname he hated, that Axel made him happy about. He only liked it when Axel said it, and only Axel. Roxas's head shot up. He leapt off the stool with the realization he was alone- he could now have the privacy. He grabbed the phone off the counter and dialed Axel's cellphone- it was a number that Roxas had texted many times before bed after that first day Axel was gone (or was it the second? Roxas couldn't remember.) The phone rang. Roxas waited, impatient with anticipation, as the phone rang several more times before someone answered.

"Hello?" It was a girl's voice. Roxas was stunned into silence. Why would a girl be answering Axel's cell phone? "Hello? Is there anyone there? Is this Moo-Moo's girlfriend? Because if it is he doesn't want to talk to you anymore. Who is this?" the voice said, seemingly unable to stop talking for more than five minutes. Roxas hung up. 'So he has a new girlfriend already... I'm such an idiot. Why couldn't I see it? Maybe he hooked up as soon as he left. That can't be right- he promised he would come back in three years. I'm going to wait for him- even if he's not waiting for me,' Roxas vowed to himself. Regardless, the pain caused by hearing a girl's voice on the other end of the line was enough to make Roxas drop the phone and slide to the floor. He hyperventilated, trying to control the rising fit of tears he didn't want to shed. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Roxas leap up, hoping it was Axel. He flung the door open and met disappointment when it was just Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

"Hi, Roxas- where've you been all summer?" Hayner asked brightly, not being able to pick up on Roxas's mood.

"Hey, guys. I've been home," Roxas replied quietly.

"Is it okay if we come in?" Pence asked.

"Sure," Roxas said in a monotonous voice. He stepped aside to allow his friends into the massive house he called home. The three entered, familiar with the environment that was always bright with the lights since the curtains were always drawn. Roxas walked to the counter and moved the bowl of uneaten cereal to the floor.

"Scootch!" he called in a dull voice. The little chubby black bulldog Axel had given him padded into the room, tongue lolling from the side of his mouth as he stopped loyally at Roxas's feet, looking up as if to ask what Roxas wanted. Roxas barely nodded to the bowl before Scootch turned his attention to the bowl and began to eat the food inside. Roxas petted him, a smile barely teasing his lips. 'If not for Scootch I would've lost my mind days ago,' Roxas thought to himself. He felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to whirl around and stand from his crouch next to the dog. Seeing the familiar brown hair, emerald eyes and the always fluffy bangs Roxas let his shoulders relax, having tensed them when he had been touched.

"You seem really disjointed from us- like you don't want anything to do with anybody. What's wrong?" Olette asked.

"He's probably throwing some fit because he lost his phone or something- you know, rich kid stuff," Hayner called from the living room, lounging on THE couch (or the place on the new couch, which is where Axel used to sit on The "Old" Couch) and propping his feet on the coffee table, flipping carelessly through the hundreds of channels Roxas had available.

"Hayner! Don't be rude!" Olette shouted to the boy with brown eyes, brown-blonde hair that sort of spiked back in waves, and an obsession with cameoflauge patterned clothes, AKA Hayner. Pence entered the kitchen cautiously, brown hair messed up and sticking out in several odd directions because of his headband, dark eyes wandering from Olette to the cabinets to Roxas to Hayner then back to Olette, trying to smooth the Dog Street jersey he wore over a white shirt, which covered the majority of his sorta-chubby torso. Roxas rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Go ahead, Pence," Roxas said in an exasperated tone- the only emotion other than none at all or sadness he's expressed through voice since Axel left... Or was kicked out, to be more accurate. Pence smiled nervously and shyly before dashing to the cabinet where all the junk food was and snagging a bag of shrimp and lime flavored chips (it's gross, Roxas knew, but it was more a food his mom got for in case Roxas's twin sister visited, which was never.) Pence trotted to take a place beside Hayner on Roxas's new couch (his mom bought it and burned the old couch to destroy any of the 'filth' or memorabilia Axel left behind,) eating the chips along the way. As soon as Pence was seated, Hayner grabbed a chip and ate it.

"Ew! Pence- what the fuck kind of chip is this?!" Hayner said, grimacing.

"I don't know, but it's good," Pence said around a mouth full of chips.

"Ugh! Roxas- get me a soda! I gotta wash this shit outta my mouth!" Hayner said, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he continued to distort his face in disgust. Roxas opened the fridge.

"Where's Axel? I didn't think he would stray far from his dog, much less you since, you know, you two were so close," Olette said. Roxas paused a second before grabbing a soda.

"Axel was fired," Roxas said coldly, trying to keep pain from leaking into his words. He didn't want anything to do with this house, anymore- it was so absent without Axel in it. But he wanted to stay because 1.) he had so many memories of Axel he wanted to keep and try to relive 2.) Axel would probably think to look for Roxas here, first.

"Oh... So... Why did he get fired?" Olette asked. Roxas whirled on her, while chunking the soda to the living room where Hayner caught it, which was out of habit of a game Roxas and him used to play when they were younger (Roxas would throw things at Hayner's back to see how successfully Hayner would catch them.)

"It isn't any of your business! I don't want to talk about it dammit I just want to pretend he's here and be happy!" Roxas shouted, not really thinking through what he was saying before running upstairs and into his room. He slammed his bedroom door behind him and grabbed Axel's shirt before laying down on his bed.

Olette looked at Hayner and Pence, who were on the couch with dumbfounded looks on their faces as they stared at Olette.

"You two stay here... I need to talk to him. Just go back to watching TV," Olette said hastily, going upstairs. Hayner shrugged and cracked open the soda.

"It's not my fault Roxas is spoiled," Hayner said simply before taking a sip and turning his attention back to the TV, absentmindedly eating another chip and spluttering at the flavor.

"Roxas?" Olette asked, opening the door.

"What?" Roxas demanded.

"Why are you so upset?" she asked.

"I guess... Because I never did have a dad around after the divorce... And Axel filled that gap," Roxas said, not really sure if that statement was a lie or just partially true. "I think you guys need to go home..."

"Roxas... I don't want to leave you here alone," Olette said carefully.

"I do. Just go, Olette." Olette frowned. Then she turned around and walked downstairs.

"You guys, we need to go. Roxas isn't feeling very well," Olette said. Hayner turned off the tv and got up.

"Rich kids," he muttered as he walked outside with his soda, Pence following with the bag of chips and Olette after, closing the door as she left.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Three Years Later...

It was Roxas's last day of his senior year. He practically bounced through the lunch line, blue and white letterman's jacket unzipped to reveal his half-untucked uniform shirt, since two years before the school enforced uniforms. His blue, white, and yellow patterned pants rubbed together as he walked to the table, where his friends sat. Yes- he had matured quite a bit over the past three years. He had gotten taller, a bit more muscular, and had even started wearing his hair different- slicking it down everyday. His face had become more masculine and defined, and over his summer of depression three years ago he managed to pull himself together enough to get near-perfect grades and was involved in the varsity baseball team. He sat down with his friends, Hayner's letterman jacket with a basketball on the sleeve, and Pence's with a football. Olette had the school band insignia, officially marking her as a band nerd, which nobody really cared for.

"You look awful happy today- what's the occasion?" Hayner asked.

"I'm finally getting out of here- my ticket out of town is probably going to be waiting for me at home! And I sent all my college applications last week so the responses will be coming in today," Roxas said, smiling brightly.

"That's the happiest smile we've seen you with in years... It's good to have our Roxas happy again," Pence said, stealing the jello cup from Hayner's tray. Hayner glared at him while he opened and took a swig of his chocolate milk. Roxas looked back to his lunch and smiled again... 'I'll finally see him again... I wonder what he'll say...?' Roxas thought. Then he reached up and messed up his hair, causing it to spike up like he once styled it. Then he ate his lunch and joked with his friends, anticipating the reunion he'd have when he got home...

Roxas sat in his class, the final seconds on the clock teasing him as he waited anxiously for the final bell. He looked out the window at the car... The Roxas car- the car Axel once drove him around in...

"Have a wonderful summer, and good luck getting into colleges!" his teacher called to the class as the bell drowned out his last words, the class as a whole leaping up and swarming out the exits. Roxas pushed through them, getting outside where the sun almost blinded him, but he ran anyway. Across the parking lot, pulling out his keys along the way and starting his car as soon as he got in. He quickly fastened his belt and drove home as fast as he legally could. He was eighteen- if Axel was there like he'd promised, Roxas could leave immediately and his mom couldn't do a damned thing! Roxas laughed in an elated whim.

"I'm almost home! Any second I'll see him- any second I could hug him and finally run away!" he said to himself. He pulled into his driveway and hurried inside, meeting disappointment when he saw Axel wasn't there yet. The fat black bulldog padded up to him and sneezed on his foot. Roxas smiled.

"Hey, Scootch... You can't wait either, can you?" Roxas asked.

"Roxas- here's your responses... It appears the only one that accepted is the one near your father's house- Traverse Town University... I'm sorry, baby... But I called your dad and got you plane tickets- your flight leaves tomorrow at noon," Roxas's mom said hopefully. She was concerned for Roxas. In her eyes, he hasn't been completely right since that nanny hurt his innocence. To Roxas, he hasn't really paid much mind to his mom ever since she chased Axel away.

"Oh... Okay... Thanks," Roxas said awkwardly. 'At least I have a direction to go once Axel gets here,' he thought. He went upstairs and began packing his things and changing into jeans and a t-shirt- the same one that once belonged to Axel. Then Roxas took his things and put them in the car before sitting down on the couch and waiting. After a few hours he accidentally dozed off...

When his mom woke him up he knew things weren't right.

"Roxas! Get up- you need to get to the airport!" she said, urging him to wake up.

"Where's Axel?" Roxas asked drowsily.

"Axel? Honey, Axel isn't here. He hasn't been for years- you know that. You need to go to your dad's house, sweetheart," Yuffie said. Roxas frowned.

"But he was supposed to come and get me..."

"He can't get you, baby. You need to go!" she pressed. Roxas sleepily got up and walked to the bathroom, brushing his teeth in a state of slow confusion before going to the car and driving to the airport. 'Axel... Where was he? He was supposed to be here yesterday... And me? Why am I leaving without him?" he thought over an over as he went through airport security and got on the plane when it dawned on him.

"He... He's forgotten about me..." Roxas whispered, the realization shattering his heart all over again...

Axel shot up out of his chair.

"But sir! I've been good, and I have applied for parole twice in the past year! Why the hell can't I go?!" Axel demanded, unattractive orange jumper brushing together noisily as he slammed his fist down on the Warden's desk. The bald old man looked up at him.

"Because, Axel- when you applied last week knowing it takes a week for parole papers to go through we put a few things together- your victim got out of school yesterday, and seeing how your filing for parole and your release would coincide, I decided to shred the paper. Because we won't let you victimize that boy again- do you understand?" Xehanort asked. Axel gritted his teeth.

"Goddammit! It's not about him being a victim- I made a promise that I intended to keep!" Axel shouted.

"You know, Axel- I don't really like your attitude. I think I'll just cancel your next parole application as soon as it hits my desk next time. Get back to the yard. I bet the other boys miss you," Xehanort sneered with a laugh as the two policemen outside the room entered as if on que and recurred Axel before guiding him back to the yard where the rest of the prisoners were. Once he was outside they uncured him and turned him loose. Axel frowned and stuffed his thumbs in the belt loops of the orange jumpsuit that lacked pockets. He was labeled as prisoner '00008', certainly not the eighth prisoner, but in all truth there was once a '1' on the jumpsuit that had been picked off during the hours he regularly spent in his cell. He was approached by a large burly guy with brown hair and dark eyes. Axel stood in his shadow for a second before his glowing green eyes shot up menacingly to the man's face.

"Lexaeus," Axel said curtly.

"How'd it go?" the man, Lexaeus, convicted for some kind of homicide because he swerved to save a child and caused a pileup that killed eleven other people. Axel stood up straighter and set his jaw as he faced Lexaeus, a quiet, gentle soul nicknamed 'The Silent Hero' by Axel. Axel decided Lexaeus was a hero for saving the life of a child, who unlike the other eleven people, hadn't even lived a good life yet. The kid was fine, and Lexaeus came out unscathed from the crash.

"The asshole denied me... I just hope Roxas can hang in there another two years because at this rate, Xehanort's making sure I stay for the full sentence," Axel said, looking up at the sky that had begun to cloud up.

"I'm sorry, Axel," Lexaeus said softly and patted Axel's shoulder. Axel was fortunate to have been bunked in a cell with Lexaeus- they became friends almost immediately,and Lexaeus had helped keep him out of trouble- otherwise, Axel would've been raped in the shower, or been beaten up by Ansem and his goons. Axel noticed prison wasn't horrible, it just had a few convicts that were bastards. Like Ansem and Xaldin, for example.

Then the buzzer went off, signaling that everyone had to go inside. As Axel walked, another guy tapped his shoulder. Axel looked at him and grinned.

"Luxord, how's the game been?" he asked as Lexaeus walked alongside him, silent as usual.

"The usual, the usual... Not too shabby, either- I got some extra cake today," said the blonde man with a goatee fanning himself with his playing cards. "These guys only THINK they know poker better than me," Luxord added in a low voice. Axel chuckled.

"Gambling with food... First a mob boss gambling with people for their lives, now a prison-block casino gambling for food," he muttered.

"Really hit rock bottom, now, haven't I, mate?" Luxord asked.

"Not rock bottom... But you could be doing better."

"True, mate- very true."

"Well, back to the cell- I'll be seeing ya, Luxord," Axel said as Luxord started to disappear in the crowd of men. "Oh, and keep that ass of yours intact!" Axel shouted. For a brief moment he saw a hand clutching a deck of cards shoot above everyone with a middle finger erect and aimed at Axel, who simply laughed about it. Axel, upon returning to his cell promptly lay in his bed and thought about his denied parole. 'I just hope Roxas can hold out,' he thought...

"Roxas! Yuffie said you'd be here today- it's good to see you've finally made it. I haven't seen you in so long!" said a man who looked almost exactly like Roxas as he walked forward to embrace his son.

"Hey, dad," Roxas said, awkwardly returning his father's hug.

"You know, Sora went off to college today- he wanted to prepare his dorm before everyone else started moving in. Xion, however, failed this year so she's stuck in another year of high school."

"Typical," Roxas muttered.

"You have grown so much," Ventus beamed.

"Yeah," Roxas said boredly. "Can I go inside?"

"Of course. I have to go back to work- I'm on lunch break, but Xion can show you to your room," Ven said, checking his watch. "I'll see you later, Roxas!"

"Okay- bye dad!" Roxas said, trying to sound encouraging. He was honestly still hurt about Axel... He had promised... And Roxas had felt that he belonged to Axel- as if he was born for Axel... Then he never came.

Roxas walked into the house, his bag in tow. Before he could even touch the doorknob, the door swung open to reveal a girl with her mom's black hair, her father's blue eyes practically plastered with black eyeliner, and an entirely black outfit featuring a black Skull & Crossbones t-shirt full of holes, a short black skirt over black and dark grey striped leggings, black buckle up platform boots, black nail polish, a silver skull ring on the middle finger, and a black rubber bracelet that had a rude phrase on it.

"Oh, wonderful... My brother," she muttered.

"Ditto. Where's my room?" Roxas asked.

"Same room you stayed in on Christmas ten years ago," she muttered, walking back inside.

"I heard you went to reehab two months ago..."

"Roxas, that's none of your business," she said irritatedly. "I heard you got raped by a babysitter." The sound of Roxas's emotion was so strong that it was almost an audible snap. She looked back at Roxas.

"What the fuck's your problem? Was it really that bad?" she asked, seeming to display concern. Roxas remained silent, trying not to cry.

"Hey, Roxas- I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be... I... I wanted it... But... How did you find out?" he asked, having difficulty finding his voice.

"Roxas... It was on the news that he went to prison three years ago," Xion said, as if it were obvious.

"P-prison?" Roxas barely managed to ask, face draining of color. "That explains it," he murmured before his eyes rolled and he hit the floor.

_(note: i wanted to finish writing this whole thing before uploading, but after a three month bout of writers block i caved and posted the four chapters ive gotten. i will update more as soon as possible, but i cant promise it being regular, especially when im a bit busy with Uptown Girl, which is really a lot easier for me to write because it sort of writes itself, haha... thanks for being patient, though.)_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Just Like Xion...

"I think they put him on death row, to be honest- I can't remember all the details," Xion muttered, sitting on her bed and filing her black nails about a month after Roxas returned to her. Roxas looked down, disappointed that his question had such a horrible answer. He passed the joint back to Xion who took a heavy drag.

"Don't be so sad," she said, rolls of smoke slithering from her mouth as she said it. "I'm surprised you didn't ask me that weeks ago."

"I didn't have the courage weeks ago," Roxas muttered. Though in the past week he had taken to getting high with Xion, he was still managing his grades well, successfully bringing life back to the brother-sister bond while keeping his oblivious, always at work father happy.

"Promise me you won't go all depressed on me, 'kay? I don't want your stupid ass to start cutting like I had- look, scarred forever," Xion said, rolling up her black cardigan's sleeve to reveal old white scars on her wrist, half of which were hidden by her always-present bracelets. "Happened when that guy, what's his name again?" she asked herself, tapping her chin. Roxas grimaced while she thought- if she was so upset about this guy to cut herself you'd think she'd remember him better...

"Oh! Right- his name was Riku, I think... Little bastard left me after three years of dating, never said why and not long after I cut until I found out about three months after the breakup he was gay- for my BROTHER, no less- and not you, sweetheart- the other one. The really nub shit one," Xion said, snapping.

"If he's so dumb how did he pass and you fail?" Roxas inquired, just to tease his sister. She frowned. Then she shrugged.

"Easy- I just decided school was worthless when it came to living- I mean, why would a goddamned stay at home mom need to know a quadratic equation, or the chemical composition of stomach acid?" she asked. "I figured getting high was more realistic than learning worthless shit, you know? Like, I could be the best fucking author ever with the inspiration I get from an E."

"Xion, you promised."

"I know, I know... Jeez- you aren't complaining about the pot," she said. "Hippo."

"You mean 'hippocrit'?" Roxas asked, taking the joint back from his sister before taking another short drag, coughing a little.

"Whatever. Noob," she commented, making fun of the fact that Roxas still coughed when he smoked.

"Don't laugh at me because I'm not used to it," Roxas said, bloodshot blue eyes narrowing. Xion just burst out laughing.

"God your face looks so stupid right now!" she howled in a giggling fit. Roxas got up from the foot of his sister's bed- the bed had a dark purple comforter with black spiderweb designs slithering over it, with black sheets and pillowcases with purple stripes, as well as black painted headboard and walls, with a dark blood red carpet and pot leaf- shaped paper hanging decoratively about the room. Xion sat up, done laughing, crossing her platform boot and black legging clad legs, straightening her fluffy black skirt and tucking some of her dark hair behind her ear.

"What now?" she asked.

"I'm going back to my room to IM Hayner," he replied nonchalantly.

"Whatever," Xion said and opened the drawer on her black bedside table with a black and purple modern goth style lamp on top. She proceeded to pull out a magazine, and from what Roxas saw it was gay male porn.

"What are you looking at?" Roxas asked in disgust.

"Your mom. You've done this shit before don't go preaching on me because I like to look on," Xion said, taking another drag. "His butthole looks sore," she muttered, rubbing part of the page with her finger and causing Roxas to groan in disgust and protest while covering his ears before hurrying from the room.

"Gross," he mumbled to himself as he walked to his own room and got on the computer. He waited for the old desktop to warm up and whir to life, tapping impatiently on the desk in front of him. As the pop-up ads started he exited out of each one, not paying much attention until one ad caught his eye- 'PENPALS WANTED! Chat with people from around the world, share adventures and build a relationship!'

Curious, Roxas clicked on it, unsure exactly why he was driven to do so. Perhaps he just wanted comfort, or maybe because he was simply bored. A list of addresses popped up and he saw one that caught his eye- one that was for a prison. Adrenaline coursed in a small dose through Roxas as his heartbeat quickened, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. 'Prison... That's the one HE might be in... I've got to try,' Roxas thought. He instantly grabbed a pen and paper, wrote down the address, and exited out of the rest of the ads. He shut off the computer, initial purpose gone and returned to his room to compose a letter to the prison, fear stabbing him when he thought about how it may not even get to Axel. Roxas warded those thoughts away- he needed to try.

Axel stood under the hot spray, usually bright spiky hair turned dark, almost brown, and sagging on his shoulders and hanging in his face, dripping with the occasional drop of water when he watched his bangs and felt the heat running down his back. Somehow he made a mental link to that night all those years ago when there were chills running up his spine as Roxas and him had made love for the first time...

Roxas... Axel grimaced bitterly as the name crossed his mind- mostly because he might never be able to see him again, or perhaps he would, only to find that Roxas had moved on, demanding answers to questions like 'Where were you those years ago?! You promised me you'd come back!' and accusations like 'You fucking liar!'

Another reason for Axel's growing bitterness was that the warden, Xehanort, wouldn't let him on parole- Axel had that ability, unlike some of the men here, but Xehanort would never let out a man on parole. Ever.

Salt water mixed into the water of the shower as Axel silently wept, thinking about how he had broken his promise, and probably lost all he had left with it. Axel thought back to his only true possessions- his memories. Those of Roxas as he cried, the way his face looked when he thought, when he laughed, when he slept, and even when he came- Axel smiled fondly at the last one. Blush and a bit of sweat on his face, eyes squeezed shut in such an embarrassed, adorable fashion, mouth half open in a moan of ecstasy as he orgasmed... Axel found himself in a bit of an awkward situation- in need of releif but afraid of getting caught in the showers pleasing himself- that would be like wearing a neon sign saying 'Hey, I'm open for business- use the back door!'

He shut off the water, glad for the concealing steam in the washroom as he went to retrieve his towel before going into the changing rooms to put his clothes back on. Toweling his hair to the point where it was still damp but fluffy enough to gain back some of the brighter hues of red and spike wildly, Axel returned the towel to a designated bin and started back to his cell, a guard always less than ten feet away. When he got back to said cell he climbed onto the bunk over Lexaeus, who was reading a local paper from three months ago. Axel folded his arms behind his head as he lay in his bunk, brow furrowed and mouth with downturned corners. Lexaeus poked his head over the side and extended a finger to poke Axel's thigh.

"Why do you frown?" he asked. Axel didn't look to acknowledge him- he kept his eyes angrily focused on an imaginary spot on the ceiling.

"Just angry, Lex- don't you worry about it," Axel responded. Lexaeus's brow furrowed, then.

"Why are you angry?"

"Well... I just made a promise I was unable to keep. I don't like doing stuff like that, is all... I mean, said promise was made to a lover of mine and I can't get out of here to go keep the promise, much less see that cute face again..."

"They must be special."

"Oh, they are... Lex, can you keep a secret?" Axel asked, rolling onto his side to put less than eleven inches between himself and his cellmate/friend.

"Yes," Lexaeus replied.

"Good... This said lover... It's a he," Axel said quietly so that none of the neighbors heard.

"Roxas... Is a man?" Lexaeus asked. Until this point Axel had never really revealed the gender of his special someone outside the gates, and since this 'Roxas' had never came to visit Axel, Lexaeus had simply assumed it was a woman who moved on after Axel came to prison.

"Yes. And not only that but Roxas is the same minor that got me landed in this joint... Not that I blame him, just... Had I not succumbed I wouldn't be here now," Axel admitted.

"So... What is your side of the story?" Lex asked, having never heard a full account of the dirty deed Axel had done to deserve prison- as far as Lexaeus knew, there wasn't really one other than the fact Axel once admitted he would most likely end up on a sex offender list once he got out.

"His mom hired me on as a nanny, she left for a week, Roxas and I had sex a few times, said encounters were caught on nanny cams, she took them and me to court, (I think she bribed the judge) I was convicted and long story short I'm in prison and God only knows what Roxas is up to," Axel summed up in a brief explanation. Lexaeus nodded silently until Axel was finished and looked up at him when finished.

"So Roxas's mother didn't want to admit her son had consensual sex with a man almost twice his age?" Lexaeus asked.

"You got it," Axel said, grinning, winking, and simultaneously pointing a finger gun at Lexaeus.

"So I guess you still really like this kid?"

"Sure do, but... Not really sure if he counts as a kid anymore, seeing how he turned 18 not too long ago..."

"Huh... So any 'encounters' from now on are legal?" Lexaeus asked. Axel thought about it for a second and grinned deviously.

"Yes, I believe they do..."

"Well, good luck to you," Lexaeus said before getting back to his own bunk. Axel smiled softly- 'When I finally get out we can be together at last...'


End file.
